“Any of those events where you already knew there was gonna be limited-edition sneakers—quickstrikes, tier zeroes—whatever category they were in, if they were super limited, these guys went,” Bun told Complex. “They went, and they went big.”
Bun said that beyond being a reseller, Cracc was an authenticator. If he was buying your stuff to flip, it meant something.
“If Upscale Cracc was in your line,” Bun said, “whether it was a sneaker drop, whether it was Supreme, whether it was Denim Tears—any of that fly shit—if he was in your line, your shit was popping.”
The sentiment bore out in social media reactions shared on Tuesday. Chicago designer Joe Freshgoods reposted an old video of Cracc lining up for one of his hat releases, adding an RIP message. The popular streetwear brand Hellstar reposted an image of him, crediting Cracc for creating awareness for its brand.
“This guy was a true hustler,” Bun said.
Cracc hustled through the pandemic, updating his business model in 2020 when the COVID-19 shutdown and social distancing threatened the livelihood of resellers who got their product at physical releases. When people stopped lining up and New York’s streets were empty, he sold shoes through Instagram, hosting streams where viewers would purchase slots on a digital roulette wheel to try and win a pair of coveted sneakers.
“There are so many different variations of that on so many different pages,” Bun said, “but he was the guy that came up with the roulette wheel.”
Even if you weren’t there to try to win a pair of shoes on the low, the streams made for good entertainment. Sneaker collector Abdul Fouzi remembers seeing Cracc run those shows, where he’d call out sales and orders with the intense energy of a stock broker making trades on Wall Street.
“That dude was one of a kind,” Fouzi said. “My first time meeting him, I couldn’t fucking believe it. He coulda been anything.”
That first time happened, of course, at a sneaker release. Cracc and other East Coast resellers made the trek to Chicago in February 2020 for NBA All-Star weekend, a stretch of days that hosts some of the biggest sneaker releases of the year. They fanned out across the city, chasing down shoes and finagling access in frigid temperatures.
That weekend, Virgil Abloh debuted his Off-White x Air Jordan 5 in Chicago. Fouzi watched Cracc organize a crew who found a way to go back for pair after pair, even though Jordan Brand’s launch policy officially only allowed one per customer. One person in the crew noted this to Cracc, who told his worker to go back and do whatever was needed to get the shoes. Cracc wouldn’t let him give up. He knew how to work the magic.
“It was one of the most motivational speeches I’ve ever heard,” Fouzi said. “I told him, ‘I’ll go out there and get you the fucking sneaker right now.’”
Upscale Cracc is remembered by his friends and business associates as a connector and a helper who made sure to put other people on. He was honorable and didn’t back down. He was the star of impossible scenes—the guy smiling proud in a photo surrounded by an absurd number of Trophy Room Air Jordans. Those who bonded with him in the resale game eulogize him in superlatives: He was a legend, a GOAT.
“Through all the bullshit and drama,” Arias said, “we all love each other.”
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